Scientists Say
A weekly word defined, in a sentence and in context.
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Science & Society
Scientists Say: Dialect
Different dialects of the same language have distinct words, pronunciations and sentence structures.
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Artificial Intelligence
Scientists Say: Deepfake
Seeing should no longer mean believing, now that AI tech makes creating fake videos, audio and images easier than ever.
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Archaeology
Scientists Say: Stone Age
This vast, mysterious stretch of time marks the dawn of human civilizations.
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Space
Scientists Say: Campfire
These miniature solar flares could help solve a big mystery about our sun.
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Space
Scientists Say: Kugelblitz
A black hole made of pure light —or kugelblitz — may be possible, at least in theory. But in practice: impossible.
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Physics
Scientists Say: Magnetosphere
This magnetic field encapsulates our planet, sheltering us from damaging energetic threats posed by the cosmos and our own sun.
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Space
Scientists Say: Cosmic rays
These energy-packed particles come to us from the farthest reaches of outer space.
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Genetics
Scientists Say: Telomere
These protective caps at the ends of chromosomes play a key role in cell replication.
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Math
Scientists Say: Fractal
There’s no end in sight for these infinitely complex geometric wonders.
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Materials Science
Scientists Say: Goldene
Making this metallic, two-dimensional (2-D) material is difficult — but super-thin sheets of gold could have uses in electronics and chemistry.
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Science & Society
Scientists Say: Thought experiment
Thinking through imaginary, sometimes absurd, scenarios can catalyze new ways of thinking.
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Animals
Scientists Say: Beakiation
Parrots use this clever sidestepping motion to maneuver along thin branches.